Red Line
by Algerian from the moon
Summary: While out exploring a new forest, Hiccup and Toothless get caught in a young girl's trap. Who is she? And what will happen to our young hero? (Set between RTTE and the second movie).
1. Chapter 1

"Where are you going?" Astrid curiously asked Hiccup, who had just finished saddling Toothless.

"I was going to scout some new places south of the Edge. I'm trying to explore the islands we didn't explore because we had to leave," he replied as he mounted Toothless, clicking his prosthetic in place.

"But we already scouted those islands; you're not thinking to go any further, aren't you?" Astrid always worried when Hiccup went off on his own.

"Well, ah…actually I am," Hiccup replied, scratching the back of his neck, "but with Toothless it won't take that long, and I'll go back before next week!"

"You promise?!" Astrid glared at him with her arms crossed. There was no way Hiccup could turn that look down.

"I promise!" He bent down and kissed her a quick peck on the cheek.

"Take care of him!" Astrid said, addressing Toothless. The dragon growled as if to say "don't worry, he's in good hands, or rather, claws".

After Hiccup and Toothless notified Stoick, Hiccup's father and chief of the tribe, of their task, they hit the skies, directly toward the sun, and up on to the unknown horizon. Hiccup took one brief look back over his shoulder at his home before the little rocky island of Berk disappeared into the skyline.

Hiccup and Toothless flew for hours through the clouds and above the endless blue sea. Time to time they encountered some little isolated islands, and sometimes inhabited islands. They frequently changed their course of flight, going higher to avoid any unpleasant surprises. Surprisingly, the people he ran into weren't so savage, and they watched in amazement as Hiccup and Toothless landed on the ground to have an occasional rest from their long flight.

In one of these such rests, the first thing Hiccup did was to stretch his legs. After all, it's a bit painful to sit in one position not moving for hours. Hiccup knew this, but Toothless seemed unaffected. He was a dragon and he was born to fly, unlike the twenty-year-old Hiccup who only discovered the thrill of flying four years ago.

"Argh…my back! A cramp! Toothless, little help!" Hiccup asked for his friend's help, but Toothless just warbled at the young man suffering before helping him. Toothless licked Hiccup's face affectionately.

"That's better…thanks, bud." Toothless growled happily in welcome.

Hiccup took the map out and opened it to check their course. "Well, we were here, and now we should be here…" Hiccup tracked their flight course with his finger, but the island they were on wasn't sketched on the map. Hiccup checked it over and over again to make sure. Toothless sat beside him, trying to figure out what his rider was doing.

"There's nothing wrong, that means one thing…this is a new island." Hiccup said to no one in particular. "Hmm."

He took his wooden pencil and drew the island on the map, before climbing back onto Toothless. They soared into the sky. "Let's see how this island looks from the sky, eh bud?" he said as they hovered above the island examining it carefully.

"Flat island. Small forest. A small river running across the island in the middle. Large sea shores." Hiccup wrote down a jaunty description about the island before filling in the details on the map. He thought that he had gotten everything special about the island. He narrowly missed one thing, though. "...and that's the river…wait, there's something on the river shore. A small viking village!"

Hiccup was surprised, for this was no ordinary Viking village. Actually, he wasn't even sure if it was made by Vikings! First, Vikings live near the sea on the edges of an island, not by a river shore in the middle of one. If you thought about it, Hiccup thought, that was a very smart move. That way they could avoid any angry Vikings wanting a war or just plain raiding. It was away from all the eyes of the world.

"Maybe we should go and say hello bud, don't you think so?" Hiccup suggested and Toothless growled in a low, sharp noise to show his displeasure with Hiccup's decision.

"Come on, Toothless! Why not? They have no visible weapons, no catapults, no watchers, no pots of boiling oil, or any fortresses. Pure heaven, compared to what we've come across before! I bet you they're peaceful!" Hiccup was determined on going, no matter what Toothless thought about it.

They traveled to the village on foot. It was the best they could do, beside from crash landing from the sky and scaring everybody in the town. So, they walked through the bushes until they reached the river.

"Well, there it is, right across the river," Hiccup said but he hesitated . "Maybe I should go alone." Toothless growled, not agreeing with the idea.

"Don't worry bud. If something happens, I'll just call you and we could get out pretty quick." Toothless agreed after Hiccup reasoned with him for a bit, but he still worried about his friend.

He stayed across the river and Hiccup continued to enter the city. From the first look of things, the city was simple, with people walking around the tight alleyways, minding their own business. Hiccup strolled on towards the center of the village. The sights of young children playing, women helping their husbands, and a few men in front of a house noticeably bigger than the others met his eyes.

"Lost your way?" one of those men called to Hiccup. Hiccup turned to look at the man. From a guess, he was still young, in his twenties.

"Yeah, my ship uh.. stopped on your shores, and the rest of my crew asked me to get some wood to light a fire for the night," Hiccup answered.

"But you could collect the wood from the forest entrance. The last time I checked this here village was in the center of the forest, lad."

"Ah…right. I decided to take a walk before hand! The river led me right here! Nice place, by the way," Hiccup said, nervously.

"Who are you? And where are you from, stranger?" the man asked again and Hiccup tried to answer the man's questions without giving away Toothless or the dragons.

"I'm a friend! And I'm from an small island north of here called Berk. Hails nine months out of the year, you know." As Hiccup pronounced the word 'Berk' the man and his friend's eyes widened. His startled expression disappeared in the blink of an eye. Hiccup thought he had imagined it.

"Sorry, my friend, I thought I knew your island for a moment but it turned out that I don't…well, if you're friend, so are we." The man reached out his hand and Hiccup took it, glad that the attention was off of himself. "I don't want to delay you, seeing as the night is near, so I will show you from where we take our wood. Look! Take this path for about five minutes until you find a red big tree. That's where the best wood for fire is. Always dry and ready to burn. Take what you need, friend."

Hiccup thanked the man and went back in the direction he had come from, which was unfortunately the opposite way than the young man had told him to go.

"As I expected!" the man hooted after Hiccup had disappeared behind the dark green tree line.

"What? I didn't see anything wrong with him," one of his companions pointed out. "Just another traveler, like we get occasionally."

"He's not smart as he looks. He can't even tell a lie correctly."

"Huh?"

"He's the man who was riding the black dragon from earlier," the man said, rubbing his chin thoughtfully.

"But how do you know he lied to us?"

"Cutting wood? He doesn't have an ax or even a sword to cut it with, and I doubt he left his tool somewhere. It's too dangerous to just leave something like that. Someone could steal it."

"Well, that makes sense," his companion replied, slowly.

"And he said he's from Berk…I know someone who will pay his life to get his hands on Berkian blood."

"Bryan y-you don't s-suggests to hand him to the Dragon Queen, do you?"

"Let me remind you," Bryan said sternly, "we have a deal with the Dragon Queen. Recall how she saved our village from the dragons who were destroying and killing our people for centuries? Now we have to pay her, and that man will fulfill our tribute.

"Jack, go inform the Dragon Queen that a Berkian is wandering around in the forest. Run as fast as you can if you value your life. Hurry before he flies away!"


	2. Chapter 2

The young lad Jack sprinted as fast as he could through the forest like Bryan had told him to. He got deeper and deeper into the thick undergrowth, until he pushed through into an open space in the middle of the forest.

He could see some dragon skeletons scattered all over the ground, weapons strewn everywhere, firewood stacked up, and a small shelter. Just being near the place made Jack shake as if he was facing an angry Monstrous Nightmare that was on fire. His knees failed him and he nearly fell as he walked toward the shelter. He was so nervous, he could barely put one foot in front of the other, and teetered like a toddler.

"Speak you name or you shall face ultimate death!" A harsh female voice came from the inside of the shelter. Jack froze in place.

"I-I-I'm from the village, and m-m-my name is J-Jack!" he cried as soon as he regained the use of his tongue.

A long moment passed in which Jack didn't dare to move. At some point he thought he would have to run away to save his hide, but before he could act, he heard movements from the shelter and an girl around eighteen years old stepped out. She was skinny, pretty, and had a youthful appearance. At first glance, nothing to be scared of, but Jack was nearly at the point of having a heart attack. As the girl walked closer to him, she scooped up a massive ax that would have been impossible for another girl to lift from the ground. She lifted it and swung the weapon around with practiced ease. With every swipe, Jack could see his life coming to a sudden end.

"Well, welcome to my place. I could have cleaned a little if I knew someone was coming," the Dragon Queen said very calmly as she put her arms around Jack's shoulder. Her grip was like iron.

"So, my sweet little Jack, what you have from the village? Are you gonna pay me yet?" she said, releasing him. She turned and threw the ax into a tree. It was a perfect bull's eye. It would have been deadly if someone or a dragon had been the target.

The Dragon Queen walked slowly to the tree to reclaim her ax. "Speak your mind Jack. I don't have the whole day to chat, you know."

"A-Ah…I-I have n-news from B-Bryan, he said a B-Berkian is wandering in the forest. He is f-following the river near…" Before he could finish his sentence, the ax flew just a few inches away from his head and landed with a THUD! in the tree behind him.

"A BERKAIN! A BERKAIN IS HERE! I will chop off his head!" the Queen roared as she snatched a sword from the ground and ran towards Jack.

Jack fell backwards on the ground and started to cry. It could have been his last minute in life, but the young girl stopped right in front of him fuming with anger. Why had she spared his life? That's a mystery Jack would never find the answer to!

She turned and left, leaving Jack on the ground, shocked. It was quite possible that he was the first one ever to survive the Queen's fury. The Dragon Queen loped through the forest and followed the river. The only weapons she took with her were a bow, a poisoned arrow, and a small dagger.

"He may be the dragon rider who was hovering above the island earlier, yes?" the Queen said to herself as she kept running. "A dragon and a Berkian all in one day! How lucky I am!"

She kept running until she caught up with the dragon and his rider. Being smart, she knew it wouldn't end well if she attacked the two randomly. She would have to make a clever plan to take both of them. She examined the situation, taking in the odds of the boy, the dragon, the place, every single possibility, until she came up with a simple plan.

She would pick out a high tree to climb to give herself full view to the entire grounds. Luckily, her ambush spot in the middle of the forest had tall trees. She sat in her elevated perch, waiting impatiently.

As soon as the Queen caught sight of Toothless and Hiccup, she took her bow and the poisoned arrow and aimed them at the dragon.

"Not yet, not yet!" she chided herself. She waited till the perfect opportunity to take the shot.

Hiccup and Toothless walked along, not knowing what danger was lying in wait for them ahead. Hiccup was laughing to himself.

"I told you they are peaceful, didn't I bud?" Hiccup teased Toothless. The dragon just growled moodily. "We should stay here for the night," Hiccup suggested and stopped, turning to Toothless.

Seeing that it was the perfect opportunity to take them both out, the Dragon Queen released the arrow. It flew straight on its path to Toothless.

Hiccup switched his eyes around, looking for a place to camp on the forest ground. He heard a sharp growl coming from Toothless and turned around just in time to see the dragon get hit with an arrow.

"No, Toothless!" Hiccup howled and ran to Toothless. The arrow wasn't lodged deeply in Toothless's flesh, so Hiccup carefully pulled it out. He saw the liquid on the tip and immediately recognized it as poisoned. Toothless closed his eyes slowly and Hiccup started to freak out. Who would do such a thing?

"No, Toothless! Can you hear me? Come on bud, stay with me!" Hiccup put his hands over the wound to stop the bleeding and tried his best to keep Toothless awake, but ultimately failed.

"Don't worry! He's not dead." The girl who shot Toothless casually walked up to Hiccup. "Alive Night Furies are worth much more than dead Night Furies."

Hiccup turned to face her angrily. He was relieved that Toothless wasn't dead, but he was still mad that his friend had been shot.

"You did this?" he questioned her, his mood darkening. He stood and took out Inferno. The sword's flames glowed bright, even in the daytime.

"Yes, and very soon I will do the same thing to you!" the Dragon Queen bragged, seemingly unconscious at Hiccup's rising anger.

"You won't get away with this," Hiccup warned, attacking her. He wasn't much a fighter, even in situations like this. He usually got out with his wits.

The Queen dodged his first blow easily. Hiccup attacked again and again, but she avoided it like it was nothing.

"Come on, hit harder! You're from the island of Berk, aren't you? Tough Vikings, I heard, but I see you are quite the opposite," she teased as she avoided a blow after blow. Hiccup was having a hard time to track her moves. The Dragon Queen barely broke a sweat. To her, it was just a little game.

"That's enough. You had your chance! Now, it's my turn!" she crowed while a devilish smirk formed on her face. Hiccup felt a flash of fear at the girl in front of him. What had he gotten himself into

With a sharp blow to the neck, Hiccup was out like a light bulb. The Dragon Queen was left standing alone above the boy and his dragon.

"I expected more fighting from a Night Fury and a Berkian…I wonder... how did you become friends in the first place?"


	3. Chapter 3

After tying up the unconscious Hiccup, the Queen turned her attention to the Night Fury. She chained Toothless and made sure the links were tight to avoid any unpleasant reactions from the Night Fury when he awoke.

"And who you may be?" the Queen asked, examining Hiccup's face. "A Jorgenson? No, you're too scrawny…a Hofferson? Not a chance…maybe an Ingerman?"

Night fell and she would have liked to return to her shelter, but with her two hostages that was off the table. Her last (and only preferable) choice was to camp in the middle of the forest, so she lighted a fire and sat there opposite Hiccup and Toothless.

Hiccup woke when his nose caught a delicious smell. He opened his eyes to meet a pair of blue ones staring back at him.

"I thought you would never wake up, but now that you're awake, you will wish you never did," she said devilishly.

Hiccup didn't say anything. He looked around for Toothless, until the girl interrupted his thoughts.

"Here! You need to keep your strength up!" she tossed him a piece of meat she was cooking. "It will double the fun I'm going to have if you're fully fed." Hiccup didn't look at the meat she offered him, but fixed his eyes on her. What did she mean by 'fun'?

"Come on! Eat," the Queen ordered, getting impatient. Hiccup finally surrendered to his hunger. She was right, in a way. He needed to eat to keep his strength up if he wanted to save Toothless and get out of this trouble. He took a bite of the meat and chewed it slowly. It tasted good, but strangely it was unlike any other meat he had ever eaten.

Taken with curiosity he asked. "What's this?"

The queen was surprised that he talked; she thought he would be too mad to oblige. "The meat tastes good, right?" she said with a smirk, then continued. "It a Deadly Nadder!" As Hiccup heard the meat's source, he spit it out and nearly vomited. The girl was a monster!

"Toothless!" he called out. "Toothless!" His eyes frantically searched the area for his dragon.

"He's here and safe, so don't worry. What you really should worry about is your meal. Deadly Nadder meat tastes like chicken, though I don't remember how chicken tastes anymore. Think of it as a chicken and eat."

"No!" Hiccup cried. There's no way he was going to eat it. It would be against all that he had strove to do, proving that humans and dragons could live together peacefully.

"Well, you lose. You will beg for one bite of that delicious morsel when I start dealing with you." Fear sneaked its way into Hiccup's heart. What was she up to? Whatever it was, it would be no good for him, Hiccup was sure of.

"Who are you?" Hiccup questioned after a long moment of silence.

"Me? You can call me the Dragon Queen!" she answered. "Well, if you're gonna ask questions, it's only fair that I get to ask you some. What's your name?"

Hiccup ignored her question and looked away, towards Toothless. The dragon was still unconscious How powerful of a sleeping potion had the Dragon Queen used?

The Queen wasn't satisfied with the ignorance she got as an answer. She jumped over the fire and landed by Hiccup's side.

"When I talk to you, you answer!" she said sternly, putting her dagger to his throat. Hiccup didn't do anything but calmly look into her angry eyes.

"I will get all the information I need when I take care of you after I sell your dear friend," She said and went back to her place. "four days and the hunters will be here. I think they will pay a lot of gold for you scaly friend here." She laughed and began to clean her dagger.

Hours passed and the two didn't sleep. Hiccup didn't dare to shut his eyes while the Queen was awake, and she refused to sleep because she rarely slept with company around.

"Well, sorry if I was too talkative. I haven't had someone to talk to for the last six years." Her face fell for a split second, but she quickly recovered it. "Anyways, I haven't left this place since I first came here, so I need some updates of the archipelago news. Is Stoick still the chief of the Hooligans?" she asked. Hiccup eyes winded in surprise. How did she know about his father?

Hiccup didn't answer. The Dragon Queen wasn't happy with him. In anger, she threw her dagger. It settled on his prosthetic. "The next one will go through your flesh," she warned.

She's a fruitcake! Hiccup thought. The best thing to do would be to go along with her game. He nodded in response to her question.

She seemed pleased with the new Hiccup. "You see? We can get along like this! So, Stoick is the chief, but who's his second in command?" she asked again. Hiccup hesitated, but answered when he saw her features twist in rage again.

"Spitelout Jorgenson is his second in command!" he supplied. When he mentioned Spitelout, the Queen clenched her teeth.

"You didn't answer my first question. What's your name?"

Hiccup didn't want to answer, after all names were a valuable thing, but it was better than getting her dagger through his heart. "Hiccup Haddock!" he introduced himself.

She stared at him for a moment eyes wide, then she approached him for a closer look, amazed.

"Hiccup? You're Hiccup son of Stoick? Hiccup the Useless," she parroted, shocked.

"Do I know you?" Hiccup asked her. Her astonished expression turned stern.

"I suppose you don't!" she answered as she went back to her place and closed her eyes halfway. Hiccup knew she wasn't truly asleep. While she was resting her eyes, her ears turned with every sound in the jungle and her nose wrinkled with every smell that wafted into the campsite. It would be normal to be a little weird, living in the forest alone for six years, but why was she so cruel? What had made her so? And why was she holding such a big grudge on Berk? Questions danced in Hiccup's mind.

…

Astrid stood on the highest hill of the island looking up to the sky, waiting for a certain black dragon and his rider to appear. Unfortunately, like the past two days, they didn't. They were supposed to be back a week ago, as Hiccup promised her, and she was worried.

"Astrid! It's the middle of the night! I think you should go back to your home, and have some sleep," Chief Stoick said to the blond.

"He promised me he would be back in a week. It's been two weeks, Chief!" she said, worried Hiccup. "What if something horrible happened to him?"

"He's Hiccup, and he's with Toothless. I think there's no reason to be worried."

"Even so, it feels like there's something wrong… I feel it in my heart."

Stoick sighted heavily before turning to leave, but before he did, he said, "You want to go after him, don't you?" Astrid nodded.

"Well, I can't stop you, so I have no choice but to let you go. But one condition!" Astrid listened carefully. "Take the other riders with you."

She accepted the deal. It would be easier to search with more dragons.

"Fly at first light tomorrow!" the chief commanded before heading back home, and Astrid ran to inform the other riders.


	4. Chapter 4

The next morning when Hiccup opened his eyes the first thing they fell upon was the Dragon Queen, who was standing by a tree and looking off into the distance. She was gazing at Toothless, who was wide wake and not happy all. He kept struggling to get free of the chains around his limbs.

"Your dragon doesn't know when to quit, does he? Impressive! But there's no chance he's gonna break free from those chains," the Dragon Queen boasted when she noticed that Hiccup was awake.

"Why are you doing this?" Hiccup asked.

The Dragon Queen took a moment before she answered. "Doing what exactly? 'Til now, I haven't done anything yet!"

"Why you hate dragons?" Hiccup asked her again.

"Me? Hate dragons? You're so wrong, Hiccup, son of Stoick." She used the title to mock him.

"I'm wrong? You ate a dragon. Isn't that a bit more than just hating?" Hiccup started to press her.

"Listen, Hiccup! I don't hate dragons, they are just unlucky creatures that got in my way. What I really hate is men, your tribe in particular." The conversation was going just like Hiccup wanted it to go.

"What do you have in particular against my tribe?" Hiccup waited for her to answer but she didn't. Instead, she grabbed an ax and turned to Hiccup.

"The past is the past, and now I will show you how I gained the title of the Dragon Queen-" she said as she walked toward Toothless. She continued talking.

"The only thing I learned in the wilderness is this: the strong live and the weak die. No matter what you face, a dragon, a lion, a wolf, you have got to be stronger to survive…" As she got closer to Toothless ,she raised her ax and started running toward the black dragon with a thundering roar. When she was face to face with him, she smacked her ax into the ground in front of Toothless, which made the dust fill the air. Toothless lowered his head and growled lowly in obeisance.

"What are you doing? Toothless!" Hiccup cried to the Dragon Queen. He couldn't just sit on the sideline while his friend was being treated like this, but he couldn't do anything since they were both tied up.

"This is how you become the strongest, this how you can survive alone. After killing the first dragon and then the second and then the third, you will get used to it 'till you lose count. Killing will become just a game. This is how you become the strongest."

Hiccup was angry, frustrated, and mostly sad as he watched the Queen. She marched back to Hiccup with a huge smile on her face.

"Did you enjoy the show?" she mocked Hiccup.

Anger clouded his vision. "Untie me and we'll see who's really the strongest!" he challenged her in the midst of it.

"Wow! I like the new Hiccup! Do you really want to go against me?" she asked, eagerly.

"Untie me and I will make you regret all the bad things you have done to Toothless and the other dragons in your whole, miserable life."

"I'm very scared! If you continue like this, I'm sure you will be a beast of a chief. The Archipelago will be under your feet, sorry, foot with the power of the dragons with you-"

Hiccup interrupted her. "Free me!" he shouted.

"Chief has to have some manners. If a lady is talking, you must listen politely." She karate kicked him in the face, which made his nose start to bleed "As I was saying before I was so rudely interrupted, you will be a wonderful chief. Too bad you won't live 'till next week."

"My tribe must be looking for me. They have tracking dragons, and in few days and this island will be crawling with dragons and their riders. You'll be done."

"Oh, really! Just one look at me and your tribe will be divided. They will sink in their own blood…and that's all with me sitting and doing nothing." she approached him until he could feel her breath on his face and grabbed his cheek. "Look deep into my eyes and tell me you don't remember me. Look!" She was steaming mad. Hiccup stared into her blue eyes, but remembered nothing.

"You don't remember me, do you?" She kicked him again and this time in the ribs. He cried aloud in pain. "Then you don't have to remember at all." She said, and then with a light blow from her ax's handle, Hiccup fell unconscious yet again.

After hours when Hiccup opened his eyes, he was being dragged on the unyielding ground. He looked around and saw the Queen and a few hunters were carrying Toothless, only Thor would know where. Hiccup tried to shout, but couldn't because he was gagged. He kept flailing until he got the Queen's attention.

"Oh, you're awake, just in the nick of time. Looks like the hunters got my message soon enough, quicker than I expected, too, which means we will have more time to ourselves," she said while she danced around. Hiccup noticed every time she got near one of the hunters, the hunter would get out of her way as fast as he could.

"Lucky me! The hunters were looking for you and your dragon. You wil be staying with me, but your dragon…I wonder how much a Night Fury worth?" she asked herself as she approached Toothless. "I might just ask for double his weight in gold!"

"You will regret this, just you wait," Hiccup spit angry, but she didn't look effected at all.

"What did you say, honey? As I recall, it has been nearly three days and nothing has happened. I think your tribe has forgotten about you, just like the old times with Hiccup the Useless!" she said mocking Hiccup.

Hiccup was confused. How did she know so much about his tribe?

"Hey, Useless? Where did you go? We haven't started yet so you're not allowed to be lost in your thoughts." Hiccup snapped out of his thoughts. He had started to remember something; something that happened six years ago during a dragon raid, but his memories were blurry about that fateful night.

"Hail, m-my Queen!" one of the hunters called when they reached the shores of the island. The hunters' ship was docked near them in a rocky bay "The ship's captain has some rules about weapons. You can't go aboard armed."

The Dragon Queen narrowed her eyes at the hunter who had talked for a bit. The hunter was sweating like his life was on the line, because it probably was. Who knew what the crazy Queen would do?

"Sure!" her face expression turned soft as she handed him her small dagger. "That's my only weapon. You can search me if you like!" she spread her arms out wide.

"No, you can go aboard now," the hunter replied as she got on the ship with the Night Fury and Hiccup at her side.

The two hunters from earlier were having a serious conversation.

"What you were doing? Are you trying to get us killed?" one of the two hunters asked the other.

"What? I didn't do anything," the second hunter replied innocently.

"Really? Knucklehead, you asked the Dragon Queen to hand you her weapons?" the other said sharply "She caught a Night Fury and the head of the Dragon Riders alone. Do you know what would happen if you get her mad?" T

The other hunter apologized a little petulantly. They were extremely lucky not have gotten killed.


	5. Chapter 5

With the first light of the dawn, the gang flew aimlessly in search for the missing Hiccup. Their destination was south of Edge. They flew non-stop for hours, passing many islands and villages, by midday they were only half the way to the edge.

"Astrid, I'm sure Hiccup is O.K., but let's just suppose that something happened to him," Ruffnut said. Astrid turned to her. "Let's suppose for one second he was caught. Don't you think he could be anywhere in Archipelago by now. It's been a week. It's like searching for a needle in a haystack!" Ruffnut complained, and Tuffnut nodded in agreement.

"We still have to search; we can't give up before we even start!" Astrid replied, frustrated.

"Right," Fishlegs agreed with Astrid. "But what happened to Toothless? He's one of the fastest and strongest dragons in the Archipelago."

"Guys, don't exaggerate things. Hiccup is now a hero and a legend, but he's still the same old Hiccup , the Hiccup who's always late and in the back," Snotlout interfered from behind the group.

The gang continued flying in silence until they reached the Edge and then turned south, to where Hiccup had planned to go.

"This is a waste of time," Snotlout complained after a while of fruitless work. They had stopped to rest on a small isle. "If Hiccup was caught, I doubt he would have been taken on a small island. It was probably a big island, full of enemies and battleships. That's the last you would expect for a Viking his ranking and place in the Archipelago to be in," Snotlout said matter-of-factly.

"Snotlout is right, catching Hiccup and Toothless would need a huge Armada and a jail to keep them in, too…get back in the air." Astrid ordered. The riders mounted their dragons and flew on.

"We'll keep going south. Look for anything suspicious that moves on islands, like ships. We'll have too split up into two groups to cover all the ocean, so we will meet back in the Edge two hours from now. Understood?" There was a chorus of agreement. Snotlout went with the twins, and Astrid joined Fishlegs. The two teams went their separate ways.

Snotlout and the twins flew and, as always, argued all the way. They stopped two times on deserted islands for Snotlout and Tuffnut to settle their arguments physically, and that, of course, made them forget all about their mission.

"Didn't Astrid tell us to meet them back at the Edge by now?" Ruffnut, who was enjoying watching the two boys fight, pointed out. The two teens stopped immediately.

"Has it been two hours already?!" Snotlout exclaimed.

"It felt like five minutes!" Tuffnut followed as the three of them mounted back on their dragons and headed for the Edge, their quarrel forgotten

"We'll continue this later Tuff! I'm not done with you yet!" Snotlout warned the blonde boy who just stared back bluntly.

They continued flying until Ruffnut spotted something odd on the waters.

"Ah…guys?! Does that ship look familiar?" she said pointing toward the object in question.

"Dragon hunters!" Tuffnut was delighted.

"But what they are doing on these waters? I thought they retreated east..." Snotlout wondered.

"I don't know, but we could ask them," Ruffnut suggested and a huge smirk formed on the twins faces. By asking, she meant after destroying their ship and burning it until it sunk to the bottom of the ocean, of course.

"You hit the left and I'll bomb the right," Snotlout ordered as they hovered above the ship. Then they attacked the ship. The dragons were shot at with arrows and nets, but they managed to dodge them, spewing forth fire. Finally, they succeeded in taking over the ship. There were only a hunters on board, and Snotlout was confused by this.

…

Back at the Edge, Astrid and Fishlegs waited for a whole hour for the other three riders to appear. When they didn't, Fishlegs started worrying that something bad happened, but Astrid was absolutely positive nothing happened.

"I made a mistake, sending those three together. They're probably all resting resting a sunny island, working on their tans," she stated, matter-of-factly. Fishlegs saw her point.

"We should go get them. Only Thor knows how long they'll stay," Fishlegs suggested. They remounted their dragons.

"You're right," Astrid agreed. "We need to regroup to make a new plan as soon as possible." They flew in the direction the twins and Snotlout were assigned to.

After nearly half an hour flying, a ship appeared on the horizon, and on top of it was what looked like a red Monstrous Nightmare and a green hideous Zippleback.

Astrid and Fishlegs hovered above the ship and made sure the two dragons belonged to their friends. As soon as it was confirmed, Astrid jumped off Stormfly in mid-air landed on the deck.

"Snotlout!" Astrid called out.

"Oh, Astrid! Just in the right time. Come on in." Snotlout appeared from under the deck and invited her bellow. Astrid and Fishlegs followed, leaving their dragons outside to stand guard.

"Guess who we did found." Snotlout challenged, excited.

"Snotlout, this is a hunters' ship."

"Exactly! We found some hunters who weren't supposed to be around her." Snotlout was practically skipping along the dark rooms under the deck "I thought they must know something so I -brilliantly, I might add- caught them!" Snotlout said as he entered the last room, and inside were few tied hunters with bruises all over their bodies.

"Thor! Snotlout, what did you do to them?" Astrid exclaimed.

"I asked them politely if they knew anything about Hiccup, but they insisted on staying silent, so I politely asked the twins to ask them impolitely, but yet they didn't talk. Since you're here, they'll talk eventually."

Astrid glared at him then approached one of the hunters "Do you know what happened to Hiccup of Berk?" Astrid asked. The hunter didn't say anything or show any sign of being cognative.

"Snotlout! Would you mind waiting on the deck for a moment? Things are going to get real ugly around here," she sweetly asked Snotlout. He turned to leave with a smirk.

"A little advice: talk soon before you lose anything," Snotlout told the hunters before leaving.

Snotlout went back to the deck and found twins, as always, bothering Fishlegs.

"Where's Astrid?" Fishlegs asked Snotlout.

"She's...ah…extracting information! Ready yourselves, 'cause it won't take long," Snotlout said as he mounted Hookfang. He was right; it didn't take long, andAstrid soon returned and mounted Stormfly.

"I have Hiccup and Toothless' location. Unfortunately, they were separated, so we need to split up." The other riders nodded.

"Fishlegs! You go with the twins." Fishlegs wasn't happy with this arrangement, and wanted to change teams, but the look on Astrid's face told him the answer was going to be a no. She continued pointing to various locations on her map. "We are here. Toothless is being transferred to their base on this island."

"But that island is out the Archipelago!" Fishlegs protested.

"I know, so you have to stop it before they reach the smog barrier," she said and Fishlegs nodded.

"Snotlout, you come with me!" she directed before the fiver riders ascended to the sky, each going their own way.


	6. Chapter 6

The twins flew with Fishlegs to save Toothless from the hunters who had taken him, just as Astrid had instructed them. The Dragon hunters headed for one of the hunters' bases out of the Archipelago. Astrid had given them straight orders to stop the hunters' and get Toothless before the company got to the the Archipelago's border, the Smog Barrier, and it was for good reason. The area after the Smog Barrier was called Helheim, or Odin's Wrath.

"We must stop them before they are out the Archipelago!" Fishlegs said, repeating Astrid's command.

"And if they get out the Archipelago?" Ruffnut questioned pithily.

"Then we will lose Toothless forever," Fishlegs answered her. The twins' worried faces soon turned to challenging ones.

"So we have no time to waste," Ruffnut directed with a fake commander's voice. "We will stop them before they get to the Smog Barrier." Tuffnut didn't acknowledge her jibed and instead played with his saber tiger's tooth necklace.

"Hey bro! Are you okay?" Ruffnut asked.

"Yeah, I'm fine," he answered. His voice would have sounded more appropriate coming from a zombie.

"Why the serious face? We'll get to wreck and burn some ships! Maybe we'll even terrify some hunters to death," she prospected gleefully in order to get her brother's cheerful mood back, and she succeeded.

"Sure, sis! You understand me very well. Let's go cause some chaos!" he crowed, very excited. The normal Tuffnut was back!

"Hey, I'm in charge! Don't get too carried away!" Fishlegs reminded them, trying to take back control of the situation before the twins could wreck everything. "We're going to do this my way!"

"Sure, Fishlegs!" they chorused, grinning at each other. Fishlegs was oblivious to the fact that the twins weren't going to listen to him.

They kept flying until they spotted three blobs that turned out to be ships. on the horizon. Fishlegs stopped in mid-air and signaled for the twins do to the same. He sized up the situation dejectedly. Taking over three hunters' ships was impossible!

"Three ships, well-prepared and full armed!" he said precisely to no one. "Guys, I don't think we can…" he turned to the twins, and to his surprise, there was nothing there but thin air. "RUFF! TUFF!" he screamed, before spotting their green Zippleback growing smaller as it headed for the ship.

"Stop, you idiots!" he called after them. He had to stop them before they did something stupid!

"Look, Tuff! The usual-" the blond girl said. Her brother finished her sentence. "-plan. Destroy everything! I like this plan!"

They continued flying at top speed, heading for the hunters' ship. They heard a weak noise behind them, and turned to spot what looked like an angry, screaming Fishlegs.

"He's going to give us away!" Tuffnut whined. "Doesn't he know anything?" For all Fishleg's notes and memorization, it was hilarious that the twins knew something he didn't.

They stopped in mid-air until Fishlegs caught up with them. "ENOUGH IS ENOUGH! I TOLD YOU TWO…" he wheezed, but was interrupted by the twins.

"Shush…keep quiet, you idiot! This is a sneak attack," Ruffnut said.

They heard some movements on the enemy's ships. It was too late to sneak in, for they were spotted. In less than two minutes, the hunters were ready to engage in battle.

"Great! Look what you did! They've spotted us now, and all thanks to you!" Tuffnut complained.

They dodged a few nets and a few arrows, but something was off about the attack. The ships didn't look like they were prepared to contain a very dangerous dragon. In fact, they were about unarmed.

The twins worked together, moving Fishlegs to the sidelines, which he wasn't happy about.

"Tuffnut! At my signal, light the gas. Okay?" Tuffnut nodded.

They hovered above the ships for two minutes and they evaded a few more arrows and nets until the hunters were out of loaded ammunition and took a break to recharge their catapults. It was the perfect opportunity to attack.

The twins got closer and formed a cloud of the Zippleback gas around the ships; not even the sharp eyes of a dragon could have seen through it. "Tuff, now!" Ruffnut shouted and Tuffnut lighted the gas. The explosion was so huge that most of the ships were destroyed in the first BOOM! Wood planks flew everywhere, and the water arced through the air in an array of sea-green blue. Loki himself would have taken off his cap to the mess.

The twins hovered in the air, their heads held high in pride of their heroic action. That's when Fishlegs got closer, with an expression not so happy as theirs.

"You two realize that if Toothless was on the ship, he's dead by now, sunk all the way to the bottom of the ocean!" Fishlegs pointed out, aggravated. The twins were shocked.

"We killed TOOTHLESS? Wait!" Ruff stopped Fishlegs. "You said if Toothless was on the ship. Does that mean he's not?"

"Of course he's not, you knucklehead. Do you think I would let you precede with your plan if he was?!"

"Thank Thor!" Tuffnut was relieved. "But if Toothless wasn't on the ships, where is he?"

"Those ships were meant to diverge us. Their base is probably over there, and they were going the other way to attract our attention off the real ship that is transferring toothless. I think they're taking Toothless on a normal trading ship, maybe with the minimum crew need to actually sail?" If the hunters were taking Fishlegs on a normal ship, their mission would be impossible.

"Ah, Fishlegs! I have an idea!" Tuffnut called to Fishlegs.

Fishlegs wasn't going to listen. "I don't think your idea would be any better than the last one.. We're running out of time. The hunters could be out the Archipelago by now. We've already wasted so much time on these ships, we might not catch up with them!"

"Yeah, I know, but my idea is the perfect. It's good, I promise! just hear it out,"Tuffnut cajoled.

"Not now, Tuff!" Fishlegs said, lost in his thoughts, trying to think of a way out of the sticky situation.

"Just hear his idea, for Thor's sake!" Ruff complained and Fishlegs snapped out of his thoughts.

"Okay! Fine!" he said as he turned his attention to the twins. "What do you have in mind Tuff?"

"Well, I have a brilliant idea! It's totally dangerous and should be labeled under Suicidal Plans." From the first few words, Fishlegs could tell that it wasn't going to be a good plan.


	7. Chapter 7

Fishlegs patiently listened to what Tuffnut had to say. Tuffnut's plan was dangerous and definitely should have been labeled under Suicidal Plans. It was exactly what Astrid had instructed not to do, but in their situation, taking course of action was their only option.

"Okay! You said Toothless is on a normal trading ship, right?" Tuffnut asked and Fishlegs nodded. Tuffnut continued. "My plan is simple! We go beyond the Smog Barrier and any trade ship that passes the barrier should be the hunters, because no other sane ship would pass the barrier!" It was indeed a crazy plan, because they were going to a highly dangerous place. It wasn't named 'Odin's Wrath' for the beautiful sunsets. But Fishlegs had to give it some consideration.

"Well, Ah… I don't know. You have a point, but passing the Smog Barrier?" Fishlegs hesitated before accepting Tuffnut's plan. "I think we have no other choice."

"Yeah! That's what I'm talking about!" Tuffnut cheered.

"Well, then, follow me and don't do anything without telling me first, okay?" Fishlegs instructed before flying in the direction of the Smog Barrier, the twins following him behind.

"I didn't know you're good with plans!" Ruffnut told her brother.

"Me neither!" Tuffnut replied. "I think it's one of my hidden talents," he confided in her. She broke out laughing.

"Hidden talents?! One day you will become even better then Hiccup in making plans!"

Tuffnut nodded, not realizing that she was mocking him.

"Look, guys!" Fishlegs called. The twins turned their eyes toward him. "The Barrier is a very dangerous place, so we have to stick together if we wanted to survive. That means no messing around!" The twins nodded glumly.

They continued flying for nearly another hour before they reached the Archipelago Smog Barrier.

A huge wall of Smog came into view. It was high as the clouds' level and looked like it was completely engulfed the big ocean. The air was muddled and the dragons got agitated, and could hardly be controlled.

"Hey, keep flying steady, Barf!" "What's the matter, Belch?!" the twins complained as their dragons bobbed up and down uneasily in the air.

"Easy girl!" Fishlegs calmed Meatlug. "I think it's because we're getting closer to the Barrier."

They continued and entered the Barrier. The fog was thick, which made seeing more than a few feet in front of them a bit difficult. There was a creepy silence, filled by the whispers of an unknown party.

"Come closer," Fishlegs whispered to the twins, who obeyed. There's a possibility that we will run into a Red Death island, so stay away from any visible land."

"A Red Death?!" Ruff said, surprised.

"Yeah. Remember five years ago? The Red Death that Hiccup and Toothless fought was on an island in the Barrier, so I think there's more around here."

"That's no problem; we will fight him and cream him to a pulp just like we did five years ago!" Tuffnut interjected and Fishlegs gave him an 'Oh, really!' look.

"Anyway, have you two geniuses thought of how the hunters will pass the Barrier? Because it looks like Thor is playing a tug-of-war game down there in the sea," Ruffnut pointed out, matter-of-factly.

Both of the boys took a look down. They hadn't noticed before, but the sea was raging with mighty waves and tossed random debris about.

"We don't know, but since their base is out of the Archipelago, we can assume they can pass the sea," Fishlegs explained.

The weather turned very bad. The winds were so strong, the dragons could barely fly straight and keep themselves up in the air.

"We should go, or else we'll crash into the ocean," Fishlegs stated, and the other two nodded.

They flew in the opposite direction than they came from, and after a while they reached the end of the Barrier.

"WOW!" All the three of them exclaimed in bewilderment. The view outside of the barrier was Valhalla compared to inside's Helheim. They were amazed by the clear, blue sea, the fresh air, and aquiline sky.

"So, this is how it is beyond the Archipelago," Tuffnut said, amused.

"I think they didn't call the barrier 'Odin's Wrath' for nothing, but compared to this, the Archipelago is…" For the first time in his short life, Fishlegs couldn't find the right word to describe what he was seeing.

"Ruffnut, look to your right," Tuffnut addressed his sister.

Ruffnut turned her head and saw a beautiful, uninhabited island, with a gorgeous beach and beautiful green hills.

"What do you think if we dropped in and said hello to those lovely Non-Viking people?" Ruff nut suggested. Tuffnut agreed with the idea.

"Hey, we have a mission here! The hunters could pass the Barrier at any time, and we need to be prepared for when that happens," Fishlegs reminded them, trying to stay responsible and in control.

"Argh! But did you see how beautiful that island is and how friendly the people are?" Tuffnut tried to argue, but just then, a ship crossed the Barrier, and as Fishlegs had predicted, it was a trading ship.

"There they are!" Ruff pointed at it.

Both boys turned to look at the ship. There were a few Hunter on the deck, and they were light armored with no catapults or net-launchers. That was good for their quest.

"It's our chance to attack before they get close to their base!" Fishlegs said as he flew toward the ship with the twins on his trail.

"Hey, Fishlegs! Don't you think that these hunters are super dumb to transport a Night Fury on a trading ship with light weapons like this?" Tuffnut said. Fishlegs understood what he was saying, but the hunters must have considered that possibility before they set sail. Their loss, he thought!

"Full attack on the ship. Ruffnut, Tuffnut, you know what to do!"

"Shall, we brother?" Ruffnut asked.

"We shall!" Tuffnut answered as they flew towards the ship with Fishlegs, launching a full attack on the lightly armed hunters. It was as easy as taking candy away from a baby, and soon the hunters were defeated.

The riders jumped on the deck while the dragons scared the hunters who had thrown themselves in the waters. Fishlegs and the twins checked the few cages which were on deck, but Toothless wasn't in any of them. Then they heard a low growl of a dragon bellow deck. The riders raced down into the hull found Toothless chained and caged. The riders quickly freed Toothless, who was weak and tired, from the chains.

"What's wrong, Toothless!" Fishlegs asked worriedly. A quick scan of the room revealed dragon nip. The hunters had drugged him so they could transport him safely.

"And what about the other dragons?" the twins reminded Fishlegs.

"We will free them, and then we will fly back to the Archipelago as soon as Toothless regains his energy."

The three riders freed every single dragon on board and watched them as they flew to the sky with a sense of pride. Oddly, the dragons headed directly back to the Smog Barrier, and the Archipelago.

"Oh! They don't belong to this side of the world! They are going back to their real home," Fishlegs said, mostly to himself.

Toothless, being a resilient Night Fury, soon recovered from the effects of the dragon nip.

"I volunteer to fly Toothless!" Tuffnut cried as he dismounted his dragon and ran towards Toothless.

"No, you're not! I will fly Toothless!" Ruff dismounted as well and fought with her brother over who would fly Toothless back to the Archipelago. Their dragons watched amused (and a bit jealous) from a distance.

"Guys! This is not the time to fight. If you two keep at it like this, I will be the one to fly Toothless back home," Fishlegs interrupted them and mounted Toothless to settle the argument. From a distance, Fishlegs could see that Meatlug was pouting.

"Don't be sad, girl, I would never leave you or replace you. You're my one and only dragon!" Fishlegs cooed. He then turned and ordered the twins (who were arguing about only Thor knows what) and the three of them flew through the Smog Barrier and back to the Archipelago.


	8. Chapter 8

"Astrid! Where we are going?" Snotlout asked Astrid after flying for hours on the wide, blue ocean.

"The island that Hiccup is being kept a hostage on should be near. We need to hurry up Snotlout. Keep up!" Astrid answered as she put on a burst of speed. The two were known for being one of the fastest riders after Hiccup and Toothless, of course, so soon the island that Hiccup was on came into view.

"We can't search for Hiccup on a dragon back. We need to go down on foot," she said. Snotlout agreed as the two landed.

"Where should we start from? " Snotlout questioned. He dismounted and walked toward Astrid.

"You're right. We need to split up. I'll search in the forest, and you can go along the beach. If you come across any village, ask about a dragon and its rider. Can you do that?" she asked, putting her right hand on Snotlout's shoulder. He answered her with a wide smirk, telling her that he could get the job done.

Astrid took her ax and made her way through the bushes of the forest. Snotlout watched from the beach until he couldn't see Astrid anymore.

"You can trust me on this, Astrid," he said to himself, and started to run as fast as he could along the beach. He examined the island as he kept on.

At some point, he stopped for a break and looked around for a second. His eyes fell upon a weird shaped rock and a dead tree. He approached them and gazed at them for a second.

"I've run by these things twice. I should have circled the island at least once by now, but there's no village." He jumped to the conclusion that this island was inhabited. He decided to find Astrid and inform her.

He took his sword and made his way through the forest. His flexible, athletic body helped him run easily through the trees. Time to time, he would stop and make sure that he was on the path that Astrid had taken, and then he would continue.

He soon found a small stream that he followed, running non-stop. Soon, he came upon a small village. Why was the village in the center of the island and not by the sea shore? Why it was in the middle of the forest? It had no way of trading with ships! He decided to forget about those questions, but Astrid was very clear about asking any villagers about Toothless and Hiccup.

He entered the small town and walked through the main street. The few people who were out gazed at him curiously with wide eyes. Snotlout continued on his way until he came upon a building that was bigger than all the other houses. It must have been their Great Hall.

Snotlout walked purposely towards the building until he reached the door's threshold. He pushed it open and took a look inside. The inside looked like a large wooden hall, with wooden tables and a stony floor. A few torches lit the area nicely.

But the hall was empty. There were no signs that someone had been in the hall that morning, so Snotlout closed the door and turned to leave. It seemed to him like they didn't know anything, after all.

Snotlout returned the way he came. On his, his eyes fell on a girl who she was working in a store. He just couldn't take his eyes off of her.

"May I help you?" the girl demanded politely when she realized that Snotlout eyes were fixed on her.

"Ah…me…I was looking for my friend. He landed here a few days ago and we haven't heard of him since. Is there any chance you know who I'm talking about?"

She thought for a second before answering Snotlout. "A missing traveler? No, I don't know anything about him!" she answered Snotlout with a smile. Snotlout was disappointed.

"Of course you don't. Excuse me!" Snotlout turned and continued to exit the village. The girl he had been talking to replaced the innocent smile with an evil smirk once his back was turned.

"Call Bryan! We have another Berkian," she instructed one of the other workers. The worker ran to do what the girl had told him to do.

"Where in Thor's name is Astrid?" Snotlout complained to himself after he got bored of trying to track her in the woods. She was moving fast and constantly changing her way. She must be chasing someone or something, Snotlout thought.

Snotlout wanted to call Hookfang, but before he could act, a knife was thrown few inches from his hand and settled with a THUD! in the tree next to him.

"That was close throw! The next one will go through your heart," a man called. Snotlout turned to face him, his hands up, ready to fight if the need arose.

Four men surrounded him. Two of them would have looked like twins if their hair color wasn't different. They were armed with swords, twice as big as Snotlout's, and the third was short with bludgeon. The man who threw the knife was a young lad, well built, with scars that told he was a fighter. He carried knives as weapons.

"Name's Bryan!" the scarred one introduced himself. "You will end up just like your friend: dead!"

"Name's Snotlout!" Snotlout introduced himself as well. "And I'm nothing like my friend. Keep that in mind!"

"Wow, a very confident Viking! Let's see where your confidence leads you." The man started throwing his knives at Snotlout without warning. Snotlout avoided them one by one, but the last one nicked his neck barely.

"Impressive!" Bryan stated. Snotlout answered with a confident smirk.

"My turn," Snotlout said as he ran towards Bryan in a zig zag pattern. Bryan kept throwing his knives and Snotlout kept avoiding them. Bryan was having a hard time concentrating on Snotlout while the dark haired Viking kept running past.

One misplaced shot from Bryan was all that Snotlout needed. Bryan threw a knife and Snotlout snatched it in mid-air. He threw it back towards Byran in a perfect shot. He followed the throw with an upper-cut that sent Bryan flying.

Snotlout stood and gazed toward the others. "Are you just gonna stand there and watch?"

"Attack him!" Bryan ordered, furious as he tried to check his damaged jaw.

The three of them attacked all at once. Snotlout retreated a few steps and then raised his hands in defense. He avoided a double attack from the twins by ducking, then the one with the brown hair. Snotlout turned around to face the other with blonde hair, but he mistakenly forgot about the short man, who surprised him with a tricky blow to the knees.

"ARGH!" Snotlout cried in pain as he fell down holding his knee. The twins launched their attack again, Snotlout up until this time hadn't taken his sword out, but now hewas in a sticky situation where his life was on the line. He pulled out his sword and blocked the twin's blows. He returned their strikes with a wide wound on one of the twin's leg. The wounded man fell down and his brother lost his concentration when he heard his brother's screams. Snotlout hit him in the leg, too. The short man attacked again, but this time Snotlout was prepared as he avoided the blow and knocked the little guy out.

Snotlout stood and raised his hands in triumph. "Is this all that you can do?!" he challenged.

Bryan was on the ground shocked. How could a young teen beat the four best fighters in his village?

"Now, can you tell me about a black Night Fury and one legged man? Or else…" Snotlout put his sword on Bryan's neck. Bryan recognized that he was defeated and all he could do was tell Snotlout what he knew.

Bryan raised his hand and pointed towards a direction in the forest. "Follow this line and you will find him."

Snotlout put back his sword its sheath and started running.

Bryan laughed the laugh of a crazy man. "You're gonna die, boy. She will kill you, she will kill you all!"


End file.
